Natura (Innova) and Animal Testing... Opinions?

[BratBoxers]

Natura brand was one of the very few that was not involved in the much resent recall....so honestly who can you really trust the companies that openly talk about their very humane testing or the ones that don't say anything and lie when ask about their very cruel and inhumane testing. Natura is one of the best brands out there and although I would never sell/adopt to anything but a real family home I will always feel they are doing the right thing.

Natura Rocks!!

[Savage Destiny]

Honestly Lakotasong? Of course I wouldn't just randomly send Riddle there, because I have seperation anxiety (lol), but given the choice to board Riddle there to eat free food, have her stool monitored, and lie around on a bed all day or play in a yard? Sounds better than giving her to a boarding kennel which may or may not take care of her.

I flat-out cannot see a problem with Natura keeping dogs in very good conditions to see whether or not most dogs like the food.

[shanniesue2]

you know, when new medications and things are developed for people, they test them on people... granted, they probably test them on mice before people... but eventually they have to do a test on people before they can market it to the general public. these tests aren't considered people abuse.

to the question about whether or not i would send my dogs to their test labs... the answer is no... because they are my dogs and they have a home. i don't take any issue with shelter and rescue dogs going to the test labs because they are dogs who have no home. right now the question for me is about the dogs they get from breeders. i have a hard time believing that natura would support the puppy mill industry (or Bybs)... I mean if the purpose of testing food on a dog from a breeder is to have an adequate sampling of very healthy dogs with a known background... then puppymills and byb's wouldn't be the places to get a dog and natura would know that. however, it's also hard for me to imagine a responsible breeder selling a pup for a test lab (unless the lab is SERIOUSLY cushy and home-like).

[agilitydog]

You know I was thinking about the breeder thing. I agree, I highly doubt they are supporting puppymills. ANd it doesn't say they take puppies. They simply say from a breeder. Maybe a breeder got a dog back for whatever reason, and that is the dog they send over for a period of time. If it is a nice boarding facility, the dog is probably well looked after and the breeders dog may still be advertised as needing a home but in the meantime is being fed a great food. Hard to say exactly.

[EllyMay]

Not to be picky, but the reason that tests on pharamceuticals and medical devices are not considered people abuse is that these are done in clinical trials, and the FDA insists on informed consent on the part of the patients. That means that anyone who has the stuff tested on them is informed as to the risks and benefits. Unless the "Institutional Review Board" of the clinic or hospital where the study is being performed gives their approval, the trials cannot be conducted.
And yes, tests are normally done on animals prior to cinical trials on humans, for the simple reason that no doctor would be willing to do the clinical trial on the basis of cell experiments.
So what it comes down to is that there is no such thing as "informed consent" for animals. Still, as animal testing goes, eating Natura food and being taken care of by their staff sounds pretty cushy to me.

[EskieKisses]

I know this is a super old thread, but I was doing a little bit of internet research on the company, and happened to come across this forum.

I want to point out that Natura states that they obtain their dogs through "breeders, rescues, and private owners" but it never says that they purchase them.

I live in Fremont, Nebraska, and I am very active in the local animal community. There are multiple reputable breeders in the area who produce 1 or 2 litters a year. There are BYBs, of course, as well. There are, fortunately, no known or suspected puppy mills in the tri-county area, based on a search of public USDA records for commercial inspections, which are available at the local USDA field office.

Mostly, I wanted to make a note that when these reputable breeders have pups with deformities or abnormalities, they try to adopt them out for a nominal fee. Natura often adopts these dogs because they have purebred DNA and characteristics, but may have faults such as poor bite, a missing leg, stump tail, etc...

Many breeders also adopt out dogs who have passed through their prime breeding years due to city restrictions on the number of pets one household can contain. Would I give up my dog because she couldn't produce pups anymore? No, but some breeders do. These dogs are often adopted by Natura.

Natura is not a cruel company. These dogs have exceptional care and socialization. Many dogs that leave Natura understand the idea that "man is alpha" much better than household dogs because they are worked with for hours every single day. They understand that man brings only good things, like food, walks, and play.

The dogs don't seem to be suffering in the least. A child will contend that standardized testing is "cruel," but mother knows that one must measure and test things in life. Certainly, the child would be happier playing outside...